The SAT college entrance exam is undergoing a major revision — eliminating obscure vocabulary words, making the essay optional and returning the scoring scale back to 1,600.

The new SAT will continue to test reading, writing and math skills, with an emphasis on analysis.

The College Board, which administers the SAT, said the changes were needed to make the exam more representative of what students study in high school.

But the changes won’t mean much to area students. Why? Most favor the ACT.

Once the predominant college admissions exam, the SAT recently has been overtaken in popularity by the ACT, which has long been considered more curriculum-based.

Last year, 92,813 Ohio high school seniors — about 72 percent — took the ACT. By comparison, 22,205 seniors took the SAT.

“We have a handful of kids who take the SAT,” said Eric Jurkovic, principal at New Philadelphia High. “The majority take the ACT.”

As for the impact, he said, “They’re going to test the knowledge of the kids when they leave high school. Now it is a projection of what they know.”

The new test will do away with guessing and cramming for it, he said.

“For the kids who take the test, it will be beneficial to them,” Jurkovic said.

Many local higher education institutions accept either the ACT or SAT score for admission.

Laurie Donley, director of enrollment management and student services at Kent State University at Tuscarawas in New Philadelphia, said few students at the campus take the SAT.

“We have maybe two or three a year who do the SAT,” she said.

Mary Southards, assistant dean of enrollment for Kent State University at Stark, said Ohio tends to be more ACT oriented especially at public universities.

Kent State and its regional campuses including Kent State Stark, require an applicant younger than 21 to provide an ACT or SAT score.

She said the admission office uses the score to make more informed decisions about course placement.

The main campus, she said, uses the ACT and SAT score a little differently than the regional campuses, which are open-admission institutions.

To be accepted at the main campus, applicants must meet specific GPA and ACT/SAT scores to enroll in various programs, she said.

Both the ACT and SAT are accepted at Walsh University and at Ohio State University.

Brett Freshour, vice president of enrollment management for Walsh, said last year, 98 percent of students applying to the university took a college entrance exam. Of those students, 7 percent submitted an SAT score.

“I understand the ACT is creeping in on the SAT,” he said.

Page 2 of 2 - Vern Granger, Ohio State University associate vice president for enrollment services and director of admissions, can’t explain why the ACT is more popular, but said, historically, students from the East and West coasts take the SAT while students in the central United States take the ACT.

The ACT overtook the SAT in overall use in 2012, in part because almost every junior in 13 states took the test as part of the states’ testing regimen.

While the college entrance exams are required by most schools, officials say it is only part of the college admission process.

Granger said Ohio State admissions representatives take a holistic approach when evaluating students for admission.

Academic achievement, course work, what students do outside of the classroom, how they overcome obstacles, recommendations, and the test scores all factor into admission, he said.

“I think in combination we get a better picture of an applicant,” he said. “I think it is wise for any university to look at the test score with academic achievement.”

Granger said the best score is used when students present both the SAT and ACT scores.

Freshour said Walsh is putting more emphasis on the GPA and transcripts of students, but the test scores are still important. Scores often reveal patterns about students and the high schools they attend, he said.

“You can see the strength of the education of a school,” Freshour said.

More important than test scores is the student’s ability to be academically successful, he said.

Another component of the College Board’s plan is to offer free tutoring to students taking the SAT.

It has been a long-standing criticism of the SAT that students from wealthier households do better on the test because they can afford expensive test prep classes.

The College Board will partner with nonprofit Khan Academy to offer free test preparation materials for the revamped test.

Every income-eligible student who takes the SAT also will receive four free waivers to apply for college.

Kent, OSU and Walsh each have a fee ranging from $15 to $60 to apply for admission, but each has provisions for students facing financial hardships.

Southards said the College Board is making a huge statement with its plan to provide low-income students with help.

“Even if a low-income or first generation student gets a high score, a significant portion don’t apply or really limit the colleges they apply to because they don’t have the resources to pay the application fees.”